Listening Project News
Current Listening Project and Facilitated Dialogue Work
Fall 2007 Newsletter With Reports on 2008 Projects
( download PDF ) or ( read online )
Good News!
Listening Project at United Nations
In our last letter we carried inspiring results revealed by new documentation of Centar Za Mir's Peace Teams Listening Project in Croatia.
This project conducted over 2,000 interviews and translated listening into action that:
- Helped stop inter-ethnic violence
- Increased inter-ethnic cooperation
- Made possible concrete social and economic advances
The Peace Teams Listening Project has been recognized internationally at the United Nations. Katarina Kruhonja, director of Centar Za Mir,
presented the Peace Team's Project to the U.N. General Assembly as a model for use in conflicted regions of the world. Included in her speech
were the following words:
"The UN provided space in which peace activists were able to work, but we did not have the support of Croatian governmental institutions.
However, that...lack of institutional power, became...also our advantage. We were forced to choose those methods of work that relied on the
empowerment of people to take part in peace building. The Listening Project, a method of applying active listening that we learned from Herb
Walters of the American organization Rural Southern Voice for Peace... empowered both, us as listeners and the people we listened to."
One of the Top Ten Development Projects in the World
Used Listening Project
The United Nations has included the “Community Development and Peace Building Project” implemented by the Centar Za Mir Peace Team in Okucani, Croatia,
as being among the 10 most successful examples of Reconciliation and Community Development work in the world.
The Centar Za Mir Peace Team, was one of six teams that successfully utilized RSVP’s Listening Project as a primary tool for development and reconciliation
work in the war-torn Republic of Croatia. RSVP director, Herb Walters worked for three years with Centar Za Mir on this project.
Other RSVP Activities
Regional Permaculture Gathering
The permaculture gathering is usually the first week in August. Please contact RSVP for further inforamaton.
Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is: "The harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other
material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order."
(Geoff Lawton).
This past summer, over sixty permaculture explorers and activists gathered here for mutual support, inspiration, sharing resources and having a
lot of fun together. Part of that inspiration and fun came from a Ceremonial Story Dance facilitated by Herb and others. Ceremonial Story Dance
carries forth the spirit of the Listening Project through shared story, community celebration, music, dance and ceremony. The ceremony focuses
on building community and personal empowerment for living and working toward a green, just and peaceful world. Anyone interested in attending
next year's gathering and celebration during the first weekend in August can contact us.
Send Us Your News & Updates and Support Our Work
Please let us know how your Listening Project is doing! We'll post updates and reports on LP
projects in the News section. You can also adopt a current Listening Project or simply support our overall work by clicking on the "Support Our Work" link.
» Browse the News Archives
back to top
|
